6.02H Awareness Presentation

Comments (0)

Transcript of 6.02H Awareness Presentation

What is the issue? 6.02H Awareness Presentation A report by an education think tank at Johns Hopkins University states that Florida is experiencing a crisis of low high school graduation. It is one of five states deemed by the researchers to be in the statewide crisis category in which high concentrations of schools with low rates are widespread. The study put Florida's graduation rate in 2006 at 63.6%, with 41% of Floridian high schools deemed as low graduation schools--as based on US Department of Education statistics. Some have even labeled Florida high schools as "dropout factories." What externalities does the issue raise? According to the Johns Hopkins study, because Florida is among the nation's largest state, its graduation rates have a significant effect on the education level of the country's workforce, and thus the economy. Businesses say it is difficult to recruit enough skilled and educated employees. In addition, because of the lower incomes, the government loses, on average, over $200,000 in lost tax revenue and savings for each drop out. Furthermore, those who have not graduated high school find it much more difficult to find employment. This increases the mortality rate as well, as those uneducated are more susceptible to violence and disease. How is the issue connected to poverty? Unfortunately, there is a tendency of those mired in poverty to fail to graduate high school. This, in turn, perpetuates the cycle of poverty as those who do not obtain the proper education often are limited in their future opportunities. On average, high school dropouts earn $130,000 less than those who do graduate. Furthermore, Sense and Sustainability argues that "[p]overty kills. Across societies throughout history, markers of social marginalization, such as poverty, racial and ethnic marginalization, unequal access to education, and socioeconomic segregation, have long been shown to predict higher likelihoods of disease and shorter lifespans." What helpful action can your viewers take? Of course, there are several levels of action. On the level of the average high school student, one must work hard to ensure passage through high school. On the parental level, one must guide their children toward high school graduation. Governments play a role, as well. In certain counties, teachers who worked well with struggling students were assigned to those most at risk, intervention specialists were hired, support was offered to at-risk students, summer classes and evening high school were expanded, and special learning centers focused on teen parents. Ashley Zhou